Largest Tug Of War Tournament: RIT students set world record (VIDEO)ROCHESTER, NY, USA -- The 17th annual Mud Tug, a tug-of-war event between teams of 10 competing in male, female and co-ed brackets, hosted by Phi Kappa Psi and Zeta Tau Alpha, was held to benefit Hillside Family of Agencies; 1,647 Rochester Institute of Technology students got dirty for a good cause, setting the new world record for the Largest Tug of War Tournament,
according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/. Photo: RIT unofficially broke the world record with 1,647 tuggers at this year's Mud Tug tournament. Photo: Bob Finnerty (enlarge photo)

The Guinness world record for the largest tug of war tournament was achieved by 1,290 students of 'Het Nieuwe Lyceum' and 'De Werkplaats' (both Netherlands), at 'Het Nieuwe Lyceum', Bilthoven, the Netherlands.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the Largest Rope, set by a rope measuring 251 m (823 ft) long, with a diameter of 2.2 m (7 ft 2 in), which was made from rice straw and was used for tug of war by citizens of Uiryeonggun, South Korea during the Righteous Army Festival. Weighing 54,500 kg (120,150 lb), it is the largest rope made from natural materials.

RIT's Phi Kappa Psi and Zeta Tau Alpha Greek organizations host the annual tug-of-war event every year between teams of 10 competing in male, female and co-ed brackets.
The event features five mud pits, which help to emphasize the event's motto, "the winners celebrate and the losers take a mud bath."

"We wanted to get more people involved and thought that attempting to break the world record for largest tug-of-war tournament would help us do so," says Jenna Deutsch, a fourth-year advertising and public relations major and president of Zeta Tau Alpha.

"We actually broke it last year, but didn't fill out any paperwork—so we knew it was possible!"

The first match of the tournament featured the "RIT Dream Team," which included RIT President Bill Destler, RIT's mascot Ritchie, and Student Government President Taylor Deer among others.

Rochester Mayor Thomas Richards was also in attendance, proclaiming the day as Mud Tug Day in Rochester. By the end of the day more than 150 teams were covered in mud and RIT had broken a world record.

While the tournament may be dirty, it's for a good cause, with all proceeds going to Hillside Family of Agencies. Phi Kappa Psi and Zeta Tau Alpha have been building a relationship with Hillside since 2010 and are working to strengthen the bond that RIT and Hillside already share.

RIT's connection with Hillside's Work Scholarship program dates back to President Emeritus Albert Simone's desire to work closer with Hillside to offer opportunities to students who are disadvantaged and now provides up to $300,000 each year in scholarships.